I didn’t go into the city for Australia Day celebrations today, but last night I was in my brother’s city centre apartment, and saw the Air Force Roulettes’ “dress rehearsal”, so I guess that counts.

It’s a beautiful day. Someone wrote a message in the sky this afternoon, but try as I might, I could only make out the love heart and possibly the word “Aussie”. I wish I could find someone who knew what the rest of the message was!

Some visitors trying to cool themselves off on the morning of the hottest day of our heatwave last week. We have hundreds and hundreds of sulphur-crested cockatoos around here. They fly in huge flocks straight over our house at dawn and dusk – always screeching so loudly you can’t hear anything around you!

Since I last wrote, the Ukrainian government has made it illegal to protest, and also illegal to wear hard hats (which protestors have been doing so they’re not as badly injured when bashed by the police).

EDIT: And we were wondering where the live video feed went to. Well, it went HERE. The police kidnapped and beat up the journalist who was filming it.

Despite all of the carry-on about the bad things certain Russians have been doing, I’ve not the slightest doubt it’s all going to be swept under the carpet the moment the Olympics start. The bad guys in the current situation in Ukraine are either ethnic Russians who refuse to speak Ukraine’s national language, or Russian-leaning Ukrainians who hunger for a return to Soviet conditions.

I’m so bloody over the romanticising of all things Russian and all things Soviet. The next time I see some Western idiot wearing a CCCP t-shirt like it’s all retro and cool, I’m going to go and… well, commit a crime of some sort.

On another note, thank you to George Clooney for supporting Ukraine with his t-shirt at his newest film’s publicity event. That’s the imprisoned Yulia Tymoshenko in the picture.